• SBOM deadline approaching: OMB’s deadline for Software Bill of Materials, a machine readable-ready inventory of software components, is coming up for agencies and contractors.
• Understanding “commerciality” and its impact on pricing: Aligning your federal market pricing strategy with your compliance plan.
• Federal CIO outlines Digital Services Playbook idea: Clare Martorana, federal CIO, said GSA, OMB, and U.S. Digital Service are working at organizing around five basic life events.
• POTUS “fixated” on improving customer experience: GSA administrator says POTUS is “fixed” on improving the experience of citizens with federal agencies.
• Former Defense Secretary Ash Carter died: Yesterday former DefSec under Obama died at age 68 after a “sudden cardiac event,” according to a statement from his family.

DEFENSE & AEROSPACE

ICYMI Snippets

• DARPA is planning a follow-on IDIQ through which it might select 10 contractors for its Technical and Analytical Support Services contract, which could be worth as much as $1B.
• DOD is soliciting proposals on a 10-year, $499M contract to develop and test anti-tamper systems to protect critical program information and technologies from reverse engineering and other hostile attempts. .

Defense Contract Awards

• ERC, a technical and consulting company, will provide support services for the Army’s Aberdeen Test Center under a five-year, $640.5M contract.
• NAVAIR awarded Ratheon Co. an $8.3M task order against an existing BOA for software product updates and qualification testing for the CV-22 Silent Knight Radar (SKR).

• Game Changers for Government Contractors
• govmates NextGen
• Project 38 (Washington Technology)
• The Contracting Officers Podcast
• GovCon Giants
• GovCon Live (Piliero Mazza)
• Cherry Bekaert (Government Contractors Guidance)
• Sam.Gov Bids Live (govkidmethod)

Want to participate in GovBrew’s weekly survey? We will ask one question related to government contracting each week and share the results the following week.

PARTICIPATE IN THIS WEEK’S SURVEY & TELL US YOUR FAVORITE GOVCON BOOK —> (( START SURVEY NOW ))

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INTEL COMMUNITY

The intel community’s historic pivot toward unclassified work.

For decades, the U.S. intelligence community has been known for its highly classified work, secrecy, and insularity. In recent years, the increasing need for information sharing, interoperability with mission partners, and industry collaboration has prompted IC leaders to adapt and take a closer look at where classification is needed — and where it’s not. Read more

INSCOM posts INVICTA Technology RFI.

INSCOM has released an RFI for INSCOM INVICTA technology, and responses are due by Nov. 24. The RFI is seeking white papers for innovative tech that can accelerate the attainment of essential technologies. Responses to this notice will be used by the Government to make acquisition decisions Read more

The intelligence community is implementing zero-trust workflows, but challenges remain.

As cyber threats and attacks escalate, securing hybrid/multi-cloud operational environments is a top priority for the IC. The challenges faced with securing an enterprise data center and a single cloud (C2S) loom large, and they’re only growing more complex and challenging. Read more

ICYMI Snippets

• How automation could provide agencies access to real-time cyber intelligence.
• Former principal deputy director of national intel. pushes for post-quantum cryptography.

IC Contract Awards

• Illuminate selected for IT and data management SITE III DIA IDIQ.

CIVILIAN

VA’s Electronic Health Records faulted for visually impaired access.

The VA’s Electronic Health Records criticized for not meeting legal thresholds for access by patients and employees who are visually impaired, which could include 1 million or more people who are blind or low-vision users. Read more

CISA working with Microsoft on assessment tool for cloud-based configurations.

CISA has released minimum security configurations for widely used cloud-based business applications, and Microsoft is working with CISA on an assessment tool to help measure federal progress toward the standards. CISA’s Secure Cloud Business Applications program published configurations covering eight services across the Microsoft 365 series, including Microsoft Teams, Exchange Online, and Azure Active Directory. Read more

DHHS Office of Civil Rights investigating hacking/IT incident at Defense Health HQ.

The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights (OCR) is investigating a “hacking/IT incident” at Defense Health HQ In Virginia. The breach impacted 1,279 people, according to the report. OCR has law enforcement powers and is responsible for ensuring private and public sector compliance with information privacy and security laws.

ICYMI Snippets

• Department of Commerce named 16 technologists to its newly-formed IoT advisory board.
• VA is looking for an Executive Director of Acquisition for VHA AT&L office
• OPM gets an earful from agencies over enhanced pay for cyber talent.

Civilian Contracts Awards

• VA obligated $789M in funding to Oracle Cerner against the $956M in EHR modernization.
• GovCIO wins spot on $340M IDIQ Scalable Ways to Initiate Flexible Tasks (SWIFT) for DHS ICE

🇺🇸 On this day: In 2001, the Patriot Act was signed into law by President George W. Bush in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

🚢 That’s interesting: New unmanned surface vessel (USV) unveiled at Euronaval 2022.

📄 Proposal Tip: For making sure your proposed solution will provide value to the customer.

🎙 Podcast: Listen to this episode to learn more about communications between Government and Industry, specifically during the period before the RFP is released and proposals are submitted.

🐾 Aww: And always remember, it’s all about the focus.

M&A CORNER

SilverEdge Partners acquires CTS.

On the heels of two announced acquisitions this month, Godspeed Capital-backed SilverEdge Partners deepened its push into Intelligence Community contracting through agreeing to acquire Counter Threat Solutions (CTS). The purchase adds nearly 100 100 technical and mission support specialists, the vast majority of whom hold high level security clearances  Read more

Janus Research Group acquires Cape Henry Associates.

CM Equity backed Janus Research Group acquires Cape Henry Associates to help further build a portfolio of offerings in data science and automation. Cape Henry was founded in 2004 and touts its proprietary offerings LightHouse and FogLifter as helping federal agencies including the Defense Department manage workforce initiatives including those for training. Read more